132 THE TALMS OF ASIA. 



(called pa}isuri,) and the fine arrows ■wliich the 

 Indians blow from their long tubes. There is 

 also at the base of the leaves a fine woolly 

 material, called ham, much employed iu 

 caulking ships, as stuffing for cushions, and as 

 tinder. The young terminal bud in the heart 

 of the leaves is an esculent, like the " cabbage " 

 of the Areca olcvacea, and other species. When 

 the trees are exhausted by the incessant drain- 

 ing of their fluids for arrack, toddy, and sugar, 

 sago of good quality is obtained from the trunk, 

 and as much as 150 to 200 pounds is yielded 

 by a single tree. The Avood is extremely hard, 

 and is used for building purposes. 



But the sago palm, i)ar excellence, is the 

 Sagus loevis, a tree which inhabits the eastern 

 portion of the Indian Archipelago, and from 

 which the natives of those islands derive the 

 farinaceous nutriment which other nations of the 

 world derive from the Cereals or roots. Except 

 the Nipa, it is in stature one of the humblest 

 of the palm tribe, its extreme height seldom 

 exceeding thirty feet ; and except the Gomuti, 

 it is the thickest or largest, a full-grown tree 

 being with difliculty clasped between both arms. 

 In the early period of its growth, and before the 

 stem has formed, this palm has all the appear- 

 ance of a bush of many shoots. Until the stem 



